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Dominion Wars
The Dominion Wars refer to the conflict between the Angharad Empire and The Council States during the First and Second Ages. The fighting was not continuous but each bout of war lasted anywhere from a decade to a century before a ceasefire was declared and the two great powers made use of the respite to rearm themselves and consolidate their power in whatever territory was gained. Because both nations were immensely powerful, very few large military campaigns were successful. The most notable exception of this was the fall of Luceana in 2A425 to an alliance between the Imperial Army and the Mighty Dragon Glamrung who resided in the Iron Mountains. The most recent movement towards peace was the famous Armistace Treaty of 2A514. In the 114 years since then there has been no open war between the great powers, though tensions have remained high. Origins of the War Soon after the last of the Primordial Overlords were cast back into the Elemental Chaos, the gods Kord and Bane prepared to leave their physical forms behind and return to their homes in the Astral Sea. The short amount of time between the two wars was chaotic and had great lasting effects. The gods hastily sealed portals to the Elemental Chaos, gave land to their followers, and, for their own mysterious reasons, sealed the lands to the northeast with the Corrupted Wall . Then, without warning, the gods vanished and left their devoted followers alone in the world with only limited communication with them. The inhabitants of Kyros were without the guidance of their gods. The Eladrin believed that they had been created first and that their race was inherently superior to the barbaric humans. On the other hand, the brutish culture of the Humans had crafted a race to which the art of war and conquest. Each race's sphere of power grew towards an inevitable conflict. The catalyst occured 1A12 on the edges of the Tarquor Sea. The Council Warship Felamon captured an Imperial merchant vessel laden with gold and bound for Heidrhûn. This prompted a violent reaction from the Empire and war escalated quickly from there. War in the First Age The majority of military actions carried out during the First Age were naval encounters in the Altemor Sea amongst the many straights and rocky shoals of the Etnonal Islands which were then under the control of the Council. The fighting was vicious and many good people were lost at sea and on the beaches of countless unnamed islands. However, this combat was indecisive and costly to both sides. By 1A22 the first ceasefire was declared, for both sides had become weakened and had pressing issues on the homefront. Soon though the war would spread to other races. The next great conflict began in 1A29 after the Deva had sided with the Council and Dragonborn had joined the Empire. This new clash was joined with the wondrous and frightening aspects of magic. Practicioners of this ancient magic could inspire followers to great heroism and destroy wave after wave of enemy soldiers. War raged for the next centuries as many other races were drawn into the conflict, adding their numbers to the furnaces of war. The Turning of the Ages As is normal in the Kyrosian calender, it takes a momentous event to shift from one age to the next. Such an event occured in 1A335 when the Eladrin hero Filomen forcefully entered the Imperial Capitol. It is said that any who attempted to stop him had their very essence drawn from them. It is unknown how Filomen had gained this power, but he used it eviscerate the High Priest of Bane and stole two powerful artefacts: the Hand and Mace of Bane. The conquering hero returned to the Council States and was appointed Chief Magistrate of the renamed city of Filo'een, Filomen's birthplace. The Empire, on the other hand, was reeling from this direct attack and the loss of two of their most holy items. With the Dwarven Resistance regrouping in the mountains of Elinhir, the Empire had no choice but to sue for a temporary peace. The Council, needing to deal with The Great Rebellion in the Etnonal Islands, agreed and the Second Age began. War in the Second Age The early years of the Second Age saw an increase of ferocity from both sides of the conflict. The Council began hostilities with a surprise land invasion of Feratûm on the Empire's northeastern frontier in 2A5. They had planned to catch Imperial defenses off guard and this is exactly what happened. The bulk of the Imperial Navy was running excersises in the Tarquor Sea and much of the army was still in the mountains of Central Elinhir. Within a week the invading Council army had reached the walls of Nândor and it's citizens were overwrought with despair; they knew the city would fall before reinforcements could arrive. Taking matters into their own hands, the Human residents of the city made infernal pacts with the vile servents of Asmodeus in return for great power that left them scarred. These Humans became the race known today as Tieflings, but these pureblood Tieflings had enourmous power in comparison to their descendants. They used this power to decimate the invaders but were forever cursed by Bane, the god they had abandoned, for he had lent his might to the Imperial Army in order for them to cover great distance in a short time. The Tieflings turned from the fleeing enemy to see the vast host of the Empire marching to the relief of Feratûm. In any case, the war was back on and the Empire needed any advantage it could get, so the blasphemy of the Tieflings was forgiven but never forgotten. Tieflings are generally mistrusted and are even discriminated against in extreme cases. The war proceeded much as it had for the past for the past centuries, with neither side gaining a definitive advantage. However, by 2A425 the initiative had passed to the Empire. In much the same way the council had desired to capture Feratûm centuries earlier, the eye of the Emperor had turned to Luceana, vast but isolated from the rest of the Council States. In a brilliant move, the Navy sent its privateers into the Etnonal Islands and the Bosphanean Straits to draw the Council Navy away from the province. Simultaneously the Imperial Army landed on the western coast of Luceana and sacked the city of Vir-Mateen. Kyros itself seemed to groan and shake under the might of the clash. Another element of the strategy was an alliance with Glamrung, the great and mighty wyrm of the Iron Mountains. Together the army and the dragon swept across the region and captured it after a year of campaigning. Sirion was the last city to fall. Well secluded in the Southern Stygian Forest they were able, for a time, to outmaneuver and ambush Imperial forces. Although the Elves of the forest were defeated, they managed to overcome Glamrung, who they lured into a trap and clove in half. Some legends say that the sundered carcass of the dragon fell into a sacred pool and each of his halves were reborn as seperate dragons that still stalk the dark paths of the forest. The Road to Armistice The Empire sought to colonize its newly-aquired territory, so Imperial families were encouraged to settle in the cities and countryside of Luceana. By 2A513 the Council had all but lost it's ability to wage war, though its boundries were made safe by arcane magi. Húath Ratthom , then a young and idealistic Githzerai, had recently been selected to serve on the High Council of Magi. Through sheer force of will and diplomatic talent he was able to convince the Emperor (then Errich Falkven III) to participate in a series of peace talks in neutral territory. In 2A514 the two leaders met on a large naval flotilla in the middle of neutral waters, and over the course of three weeks they crafted the longest-lasting peace agreement in the history of Kyros. The emperor surprisingly proved to have a strong desire for peace, even agreeing to the annexation of Luceana by Council forces as long as they never displaced the Imperial families that had settled there. This occasion marked the begining of the Third Age. Emperor Errich and Councilman Ratthom were up to the task of disarming their nations, and by 3A13 both militaries were limited to internal "peacekeeping" forces. Although the peace has remained tenuous and has threatened to fall apart more than once, the ongoing efforts of Húath Ratthom and the memory of Errich III have preserved the peace for a century.